EFE News Briefs for Tuesday, June 5

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said that the European Union should move toward fiscal and banking integration, with Eurobonds and with a supervisor overseeing activity in the sector.

Rajoy also said that the EU should make clear that the euro is an irreversible undertaking, that ditching the euro is not being considered and it should support member countries that are going through financial difficulties.

The prime minister said that Europe has a deposit guarantee fund and says clearly where it is going to provide security during an appearance before the Senate, the upper house of Spain's Parliament.

Rajoy spoke during a session at which the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, or PSOE, the main opposition party, asked him for an evaluation of the economic situation as it has evolved since last Nov. 20, when the center-right Popular Party, or PP, won the general elections.

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Mexican gov't recognizes exiled mining union leader

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The Mexican government has recognized Napoleon Gomez Urrutia, who was ousted from his post and forced into exile in Canada in 2008 amid fraud allegations, as the leader of the Mining and Metalworkers' Union, or SNTMM, officials said.

The union was notified that Gomez Urrutia is being recognized as secretary-general and Mario Garcia as acting secretary-general, the Labor and Social Security Secretariat said.

The Supreme Court ruled in early May that federal officials had no legal grounds for refusing to recognize Gomez Urrutia as leader of the powerful miners union after he fled to Canada to avoid criminal charges that have since been largely discredited.

Gomez Urrutia fled to Canada in February 2006 after prosecutors issued a warrant for his arrest on charges he embezzled $55 million in union funds.

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Denial of transplants for undocumented sparks protest in Chicago

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A group headed by a Salvadoran-born priest are completing the third day of a hunger strike to protest the refusal by two Chicago hospitals to perform organ transplants on unauthorized immigrants who lack health insurance.

"We're a little weak but we're not going to lift the measure until the hospitals agree to talks," Father Jose Landaverde told Efe Tuesday.

Several Latinos with relatives in need of transplants have joined Landaverde in staging the fast at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Anglican Catholic Mission, a church located in the largely Mexican neighborhood of Little Village in South Side Chicago.

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Mexican marines free 13 people being held by Gulf cartel

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Marines rescued 13 people apparently being held hostage and arrested 10 suspected members of the Gulf drug cartel in Nuevo Laredo, a border city in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the Navy Secretariat said.

The operation took place on June 1 and was "derived from a tip from a citizen, who reported the presence of armed people at a house in the city," the secretariat said.

The suspects told investigators that they belonged to the Gulf cartel, one of Mexico's largest criminal organizations.

Marines seized 17 AK-47 assault rifles, two grenade launchers, a machine gun and six pistols from the suspects, the secretariat said.

The suspects also had 25 hand grenades, 241 ammunition clips and 16,500 rounds of ammunition, as well as two automobiles and communications equipment, in their possession, the secretariat said.

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Spain's King Juan Carlos praises business climate in Chile

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Spain's King Juan Carlos called on Spanish business leaders to take advantage of opportunities in renewable energy and tourism in Chile, and he praised the South American country for its legal security, compared with those "where arbitrariness reigns."

The monarch renewed Spain's support for political and economic cooperation with Chile in the toast he gave before the luncheon offered in his honor at La Moneda palace by President Sebastian Piñera, an event rounding out the agenda of his working visit to Santiago, a basically economically-oriented trip, on which the king was accompanied by top executives from 20 Spanish firms.

In his welcoming remarks, Piñera emphasized that Chile appreciates and receives "with open arms" Spanish investment, guarantees businessmen that it is a country that fulfills its commitments, respects the laws and the rule of law and that it wants to offer itself to Spain as a platform for other economic projects in Latin America.

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Mexican emigrants in U.S. must get ballots in on time

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Mexicans living in the United States must send in their ballots on time to have them counted in next month's presidential election, a Mexican Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE, official said.

Some 59,000 Mexicans in 104 countries registered to vote in the July elections, but only 16,000 people have mailed in their ballots, IFE Mexican Voters Abroad Committee chairman Francisco Guerrero told Efe.

"That's 59,000 potential voters and we have received just 16,000 (ballots). The deadline for receiving them expires at 8:00 a.m. on June 30, a day before election day," Guerrero said.

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Delta Airlines buys 4 pct stake in Aeromexico

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Delta Airlines, the No. 2 carrier in the United States, has acquired a 4.17 percent stake in Grupo Aeromexico for $65 million as part of a long-term strategic alliance, the Mexican ariline said.

The deal, which was reached last year, covers nearly 30.2 million shares of Aeromexico and was approved by the Federal Competition Commission, or CFC, Grupo Aeromexico said in a statement.

Delta will get a seat on the board of Aeromexico, which is controlled by U.S. banking giant Citigroup - via its Banamex unit - and a group of Mexican investors.

"This is the first time a global carrier buys equity in a national Mexican airline. Both companies will share best practices in sales, operations, equipment maintenance and staff training, enabling them to offer customers the same travel experience on any of their flights," Delta Airlines said in a statement.